


Erwin's Neice

by DimantesQuill



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Anger, Angst, Asphyxiation, Awkward Romance, Awkwardness, Broken Bones, Canon-Typical Violence, Crushes, Cuddling & Snuggling, Eren Has Anger Issues, F/M, Family Fluff, Father-Daughter Relationship, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Multi, Pain, Romance, Sexual Tension, Slow Build, Slow Burn, Suspense, Teenagers, Titan Eren Yeager, Titan Shifters, Titans, Trust, Uncle-Niece Relationship, Voraphilia, Vore
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-06-11
Updated: 2016-06-11
Packaged: 2018-07-14 11:39:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 5
Words: 20,533
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7169537
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DimantesQuill/pseuds/DimantesQuill
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Eren x Reader romantically, Erwin x reader unromanctically (family bond as the reader is Erwin's last living relative and they are very close). CONTAINS: romance/cuddling, fluff, violence, slow-burn trust and friendship</p><p>A story of Erwin's Neice, who has always been very close to her Uncle Erwin, who is like a father to her. Erwin has always been the reader's role model, and now that both of her parents are gone, Uncle Erwin is her gaurdian and caregiver. Erwin wasn't too thrilled to hear of the reader's decision to join the Scouting Legion. He is torn. He loves you and wants to keep you by his side where he can keep you safe, but also doesn't want you outside the walls, where he constantly ventures and titans roam freely.</p><p>This story starts with the reader on her very first trip outside the walls with the Scouting Legion, on a mission to reclaim Wall Maria. Takes place right after the events at Trost. The reader is aware that the boy she trained with, Eren, who she never really talked to, is now able to turn into a 15 meter killing machine, and that keeps her on edge and reluctant to get near Eren, but what will happen, when she is forced to stay with him, and he is wondering why she seems to fear him?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Separation and Mistrust

**Author's Note:**

> Any comments are very very welcome at all, and motivate me to keep writing! Any grammar errors, critiques or praise is welcome! 
> 
> this may become a lemon later, but for now it is not. Also, Eren transforms into his titan form in later chapters!

"FORWARD!!" 

The loud roar of the commander still rang in your ears and gave you a sense of duty and confidence for your first mission beyond the walls. An hour had passed since then, and all had gone according to plan. Flares shot up on all sides around your group, signaling for your uncle to lead you all in a different direction.

On the horizon you saw an array of dark green trees forming the line of a forest. Anxiety filled your heart as you remembered the plan.

"Uncle Erwin!?" You shouted up to the commander from your horse behind him. The whistling wind made your soft voice just barely audible. "Commander!?" You tried again. He heard you, making a loud grunt of acknowledgment.

"Isn't that it, uncle? The forest!?" You yelled. His eyes widened, and he rose one hand in the air, signaling Levi and the others behind you.

"HEY! SLOW EVERYONE, SLOW!" Erwin growled over the wind, and everyone's horses cried out, screeching to a halt before beginning to gallop again, but at a steady slow pace. Your horse rode up beside his, trotting excitedly. "Thank you, dear, I wasn't focused." You nodded to him, frowning a bit.

"Uncle Erwin, this is probably the worst time to be unfocused," you looked at him with concern," You're not usually like this...are you still thinking about it?" He did not answer, but merely looked away from you," You need to stop that, it's gonna get you killed."

"Hmpf, you just worry about your own life, (Name)." You frowned at the harsh tone," I'm sorry, please don't be upset... I need you 100% focused today. I can't have you getting killed because you're not paying attention."

"The same goes for you!"

"(Name)...." He warned in a tone that sounded like a mother scolding her child. He looked to the side into your eyes and sighed. "You look so much like your mother when you pout." He said softly, then looked ahead again. You looked ahead too, your eyes feeling moist.

"Uncle Erwin..."

"I never should've brought you. Never should've let you join the scouts in the first place. I told myself I wouldn't but-"

"Please, don't start this again. It was my choice so you don't have to feel bad." He only shook his head and your horses sped up a bit.

"I promised your grandmother that I'd take care of my little sister and I let her down. Now I've promised your mother I'd keep you safe and look where we are. I can't fail again."

"Erwin, that wasn't your fault, she died serving humanity and she fought well. No one could help her," You made sure he looked straight into your eyes while you said this. He still felt guilty about your mother's death and he just wouldn't let it go. It wasn't his fault that her 3DMG broke unexpectedly. He wasn't even in Trost until it was too late. But he wouldn't move on.

"I just don't feel ok with letting you out of my sight in titan territory."

"It's ok...I'll be with Levi's squad. You said that's the safest place for me." You prepared to go with Levi, Eren, Petra in the others as you entered the forest. Once you reached the trees you wouldn't see your uncle until the journey back to the wall.

"No, the safest place for you would be behind wall Sina where you're supposed to be."

"Uncle Erwin," a tear donned the corner of your eye,"I had to join the scouts...I had to come with you...you're the only family I have left." It fell down your cheek. His eyes widened.

"(Name)..."

"Don't worry, Erwin. I'll come back. I'll be ok. I'll stay safe and I won't die....I promise. I have the will to live and I feel it. I'll fight for you and for humanity. I know I'm the only family you have left, too." His lip quivered and he refused to look at you.

The truth is, you would've joined the scouts even if your mother was still alive.Your Uncle was already your role model growing up, but when she was murdered, taken away from you, you decided for sure that you needed to cling to the only love you had left, and that was Erwin. You had lived with him and the scouts ever since you finished training in the 104th cadets corps.

"P-PREPARE TO SPLIT!!" He raised his flare in the air and shot it, plugging his other ear as the blast rang out. It was a golden flare, different then all the others, signaling that once the split was over, on the other side of the forest were the ruins of an old city that was destroyed when the titans room wall Maria. This was were they would make camp for the night.

Your horse whined as you pulled its reigns to stride behind Levi's horse.

"I'm here, captain!" You yelled and Levi nodded, taking your squad ahead. Eren rode close to your side, making you kinda of uncomfortable. You looked back at your Uncle. He mouthed the three loving words that you knew he was too proud and stern to say out loud, but he knew you needed to hear. You nodded and turned forward as his group of horses disappeared from sight.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Beautiful huge trees surrounded you. You had never been past wall Rose into Maria, and after Trost you certainly didn't think you'd ever see it.

It was nice. A quiet ride with no titan interference yet. Levi rode along quickly in front silently. Your horse was starting to get tired but still trudged on dutifully. You had now fallen behind Eld and Petra, and your horse was uncomfortably close to Eren Jeager's.

He looked over to you, a look of determination on his face. He loosened up when he noticed you looking at him.

"This is crazy, huh? You nervous?" He grinned. You didn't answer, but merely looked down at your hands tangled in the horse's ebony mane, your (h/c) hair blown back in the wind. You didn't know what to say to him.

To be honest, the thing that made you the most nervous was him,. After Trost, even though he had proven his loyalty to humanity...he still didn't know how to control his powers very well and you weren't sure if you were okay with that. You saw him in his titan form trudge through Trost destroying titans like it was child's play...you still had nightmares about it all.

After watching your mother perish in Trost while you and the other cadets escaped, you were very uncertain about having a titan anywhere near you. And that's what Eren Jeager was to you: a titan. He was a ticking time bomb of anger that could turn into a 15 meter killing machine and that scared you immensely.

You didn't want to be rude to him, though. You were never really friends as cadets but you had seen him around and knew he was a good kid. He was good at sparring and moved well in his 3DMG. You saw his trial and he was obviously determined to help, but having him next to you made you uneasy. Titans made your bones shake in terror. Titans ruined your life, they took your parents and Eren's presence made you feel like breaking down into an emotional fit.

"Miss?" When you didn't answer he became concerned "Uh, Miss....Smith?"

 

"(Last Name)...." You corrected him. You were shaken out of your trance.

 

"Oh yeah sorry, I just thought since you were the Commander's niece..."

"His sister was my mom. She got married s-so I have my father's name. Y-you can just call me (Name) though."

"Yeah.... (Name)" he looked up, remembering the past,"Oh yeah! I remember you! We've never really talked much, huh? I remember you beating Jean's ass though so you're welcome to be my friend any day!" He grinned mischievously.

"Haha, y-yeah." You laughed nervously. You just wanted to get away from him, and quickly.

"Hey, brats!" Levi yelled from the front,"Shut up! Enough talk back there unless you wanna attract titans!"

You instantly shot straight upwards on your horse. Eren looked over at you, chuckled in slight embarrassment, then rode ahead.

A few silent minutes passed, and you were beginning to get a bit antsy. Fidgeting around on the horse, you wondered why there were no titan encounters yet.

"The end of the forest is just ahead," Levi said calmly,"Be on your guard. The ruins of that old town should be just beyond as Erwin said...and after that, an even bigger abandoned city. Place could be crawling with titans."

His last words made your skin crawl. Again, you weren't in this for revenge on the titans. You weren't looking to kill more then the others and keep a record, or be known as a famous titan slayer. You just wanted to stay close to Erwin, and if he was gonna die out here, you wanted to go with him. Trost had scarred you for life, and you never wanted to encounter another titan again. Of course you knew that would be impossible out here.

"Follow Levi's orders, no matter what," you whispered to yourself, repeating the words your uncle had burned into your brain at least fifty times before the expedition. You looked down at your trembling hands as your horse followed the others and exited the forest.

Eren noticed, looking over with concerned eyes.

 

"You alright?!" He yelled.

 

"Left!!" Your horse abruptly galloped and hesitated like a rusty engine before shifting left. You gasped as to your right you saw the reason you were going left. Levi shot a flare into the air.

It was a small one, maybe 4 meters tall, and it just walked slowly toward the group. It's hands crossed and held onto its shoulders tightly, and it's short messy brown hair stood out on his pale skin. Her grinned widely, staring intently at you as you lagged behind.

"Cadet! Speed up!" Levi yelled furiously!

You shrieked as the titan dove for your horse, and it screeched, jumping far ahead. You joined Eren as the titan fell on its face.

"That was close! You ok?" Eren questioned.

"Y-yeah," you panted.

" Damned things! Hey, it's ok..." He said softly. "Just forget about it. Focus." You nodded shakily.

 

"Look, there!" Levi yelled back, pointing to his left," Ahead to the left, that bit of trees leads to a field then to a set of caves outside a city!" He pointed directly in front of him," The city we want to camp in is way past that one in front of us! Avoid the left that city is sure to be completely infested!"

"Yes, sir!" You all yelled in unison.

Moments passed. Your breathing began to steady as the remains of a fairly large barn passed by on your right side.

 

"MOVE!" You saw Eren's hand reach out and you flinched as he smacked the rear of your horse. It whinnied wildly into the air and jerked to the left violently.

You spun around just in time to see a 15 meter burst out of the barn, destroying its red walls. Bits of wood flew everywhere and you shielded your faces as the debris showered around you.

It chomped at the back of Eren's horse with large teeth and a vicious, malicious look crossed it's visage.

"Eren!!" You yelled, reaching back for him.

"I'll be fine keep going!"

"Look forward, cadet! Keep moving, Jeager's fine!" Petra yelled.

Eren's horse was faster then the titan, thank goodness, but it was still on your tails as Eren joined the rest of you.

"Captain! Should we engage!?" Petra yelled out. But before Levi could even give the order, his horse was startled by the sight of two more titans that came from the trees beside him.

"Damn it!" His horse kicked its legs and shifted to the side, almost stumbling."Steady, boy, steady!"

Now, with two 9 meter titans and the one from the barn following you on all fours, you started to panic. Your heart was beating so quickly you could barely think. At this rate, it seemed like you'd never get to Shingashina for Eren to repair the wall.

"Erwin," you whispered to yourself the only name that brought you comfort. Thinking of him calmed you down a bit. Memories of him and your mother and father flashed before your eyes.

"(Name)! Get outta there!" Eren called from ahead of you. You snapped out it just in time. The three titans tried to grab you all at once, but your horse sensed the danger before you did and ran.

"Good girl!" You stroked the mane of the black mare as she galloped on. Past the house you finally reached the town ruins. The sight before you made your blood run cold

 

"Oh.....My God..." You said softly.

 

A horde of titans wandered around the town, and as soon as they smelled you, they saw you. Now, at least seven pairs of hungry large eyes in many ugly shapes and sizes stared in your direction. Some faster ones were already in front of you, while the bulkier, slow ones tottered toward you from the sides. The horses were running out of room to run as the titans circled in.

"AGHH!" You heard Jeager cry out. The crawling titan had leapt into the air, and landed with a thud right next to Eren, sending him flying into the air. He landed straight on his back, knocking the air out of his lungs. A deep, choking noise rose from his lungs. His horse landed far away, and with a screech of pain from the back of its throat and a crack in its neck, it was dead.

"Eren!" You tried to ride over to him, but a 9 meter blocked your path, and your horse refused to go any further, startled out of its mind.

"No! No!" Eren rolled onto his side and yelled toward you," Leave me! Don't die for me just go!"

"No! Get Jeager, (Name)! He's essential to this mission! If he dies, everyone who has died today has died in vain!" Gunther screamed, pulling out his blades. He waited for Levi's orders. You looked back and forth, conflicted.

"HYAH!" snapping your horse's reigns, you forced it forward. Diving under the titan's clawing hands, you reached down, grabbing onto Eren's outstretched forearm. "UGGH!" You struggled to pull his weight up, "Eren, you have to help me!" He grabbed onto your shirt and the horse's saddle, helping you pull him up. Now sitting up fully, he held on tightly to your back as you sped off toward Levi and the other again, snaking through large trunk-like legs.

Levi's horse in the front came to a halt. Now the whole group was completely surrounded. Your horse stopped abruptly almost smashing into his.

"What do we do, sir?!" Oluo screamed in terror of your surroundings. Levi pulled out his blades.

"Engage! Take 'em all down!" He growled confidently. You reached for your blades as Eren's weight pressed down on you. He leaned back, reaching for his, too. "No! Not you two! Cadets, ride into the forest!"

"Sir! We need to keep Jeager with us! We can't split up!" Petra attached herself to a nearby sunken-in rooftop.

"These kids won't last two minutes in this mess! You wanna keep Jeager safe, well this is the way! Now go!" He turned to you. It was probably true, it was your first time beyond the walls and you were pretty inexperienced, other then the attack on Trost.

"Wh-What?!" You scrambled for words.

"You heard me! That's an order! Cadet (Last Name), take Jeager and get the hell outta here!"

"But-!"

"It's safer this way! Erwin will kill me if anything happens to either of you! Don't make me say it again! Now ride!!!" He roared. You could tell he was loosing his patience, though his emotionless expression stayed the same. He sprinted off of his horse and attached to the shoulders of a 15 meter monster. When you just sat there, your small hands shaking, you felt Eren's weight press down on you again.

"THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?! HE SAID GO!" Eren screamed angrily in your ear, before reaching around you to the reigns and smacking your already jumpy horse into motion. You shrieked, holding tightly onto Eren's arms for balance as your black mare kicked up its front legs and ran at full speed into the trees behind it. Levi was right, it was much safer this way. The swarming group of professional titan killers had the titans' undivided attention as they flew around the air. Only one tried to follow you, but Levi quickly cut it down, nodding at you as you looked back at him. 

"Levi..."

"They'll be fine! Don't look back...just focus." Your trembling lip wanted so badly for you to let tears fall, but you wouldn't let them. Eren's arms stil wrapped around you, holding the horse on track firmly.

You didn't know what to do now. You knew everyone's goal on this expedition was to keep Eren safe at all costs. He was humanity's hope. But how were you supposed to protect the titan boy that was much stronger, much faster, much bigger then you anyway? No one ever told you specifically that you had to put your life on the line for Eren, but you knew every other scout would, and you wouldn't be the one bratty little cadet who didn't take that risk for the mission. You had to prove to the others that you weren't just a pretty face that got in even though she's a wimp just because her uncle was the commander. You had to prove yourself. You could still protect Eren while keeping a safe distance.

Eren did scare you. Titans did scare you, but you made a silent promise to yourself.

"Make my uncle proud..." You whispered, forgetting Eren was there.

"What?" He asked.

"Nothing!" You tensed up, feeling the heat of his chest against your back again. It made you very uncomfortable, but you would just have to deal with it for now.

"A little further until we are sure it's safe, then we'll stop to rest."


	2. He's Gonna Kill Me...

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In this chapter, we see the relationship between the reader and Eren get more comfortable and friendly. The reader starts to trust him more, but will that trust be broken when he chooses to use his volitile and dangerous Titan form?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always, comments and critiques are welcome!

The sun was beginning to set on your left. You had been riding with Jeager behind you for a while now. He initially said that you could stop soon, as soon as it seemed safe, but every time you tried to grab the reigns to stop your horse, Eren gripped them harder, refusing to let you move his hands. You just glared back at him.

It was starting to get chilly now, and hopefully soon the titans would slow down and become dormant.

"Eren," You were extremely bored with riding on and on for what seemed like an eternity. Luckily, the ruins of the old city could be seen at the end of the trees, and the caves Levi mentioned lay in front of them, scattering the landscape."Eren..."

His weight pressed forward onto your back, more then before. You could barely sit up as his chest heaved softly on top of you. You tried to push him off, but he would not budge.

"Eren?" You tried to move his hands from the reigns again, and they easily peeled off. You gripped them firmly. Easing your horse to a lower speed, you looked over your shoulder in concern, "Eren!?" His head rested lazily on your shoulder. Softly, his lids closed and he began to snore into your ear. "I can't believe..." You growled, "Eren, wake up!" You shook your shoulders until his head began to bob up and down.

"Ow!" He snorted as his chin smacked roughly off of your bony shoulder.

"How could you sleep at a time like this!?"

"I'm so tired...we have to rest soon,"

"What!? I wanted to rest a long time ago but you wouldn't let me stop the horse." You shot a deadly scowl at him.

"Look! There are the caves!" He ignored you, pointing forward,"We can stop there for the night!"

"The caves the captain said to avoid? No way! Besides, we have no supplies anyway. We should just keep riding until we find other scouts so we won't freeze or starve or even worse, run out of gas,"

"The rest of the scouts have probably already made camp somewhere far off. We won't have much luck finding them in the dark. We will be fine for one night. This horse can't ride any longer, it's been going all day. Just head for the caves..." He commanded.

"It's dangerous!"

"Just go!"

"No! It's not safe there!"

"Ugh!" He growled in frustration." Just...give me the reigns!" He reached out for them and you pulled them toward you, causing your horse to stumble backwards in confusion.

"No! Let go! We aren't..." You struggled to get them away from him,"...staying here!" The horse cried as you both pulled her in different directions.

"You let go!" Eren snatched the reigns, using his arms to hold you back from them. "HYAH!" He smacked the reigns against the poor horse's shoulder blades.

To say it was startled, confused and overly exhausted was an understatement. As a loyal and well trained scouting horse, or course it tried to obey even in its current unstable state, bursting into motion immediately at the sound of the human's words.

"HYAH!" Eren urged the horse on again. You were now out of the dense woods and the caves were just ahead, across the open space of a long field.

"St-stop you're pushing her too hard!" You yelled as the tired horse began to zig zag and wobble crazily,"We're going too fa-"

The horse groaned and it's ankle gave out, buckling under your weight. You both yelped as you were bucked forward and thrown off of the horse.

"AGHH!" You collided with the ground, flat on your back on the cool, damp grass.

"OOF!" The wind was knocked out of your lungs when Eren's body painfully crashed on top of yours. The metal of his 3DMG slamming against your thigh. You coughed and sputtered. "Uhhh..." He groaned in pain.

"Eren..." He looked down at you. Your face grew red in embarrassment as his emerald eyes bore into your bright (e/c) ones.

"You...you okay?" He placed his hands on either side of your head for support. Your body began to shake under your tense nerves.

"I-I'm fine," you looked to the side as his nose almost touched yours. "E-Eren-" You stuttered.

"I'm sorry, that was all my fault..." He cut you off.

"EREN!" You spoke loudly.

"What?"

"Y-you're crushing me...This is a little um....u-uncomfortable," your face heated, blushing wildly.

"Oh...oh!" His face contorted as his cheeks turned pink, only just now realizing your awkward position. "S-sorry!" He scrambled to his feet, before reaching a hand out to you.

You hesitated, a little afraid to take the hand that held scars from bite marks lining it. After seeing them you were reminded of what he really was. You now regretted making him angry just a moment ago on the horse, as he could transform into a large beast and crush you whenever he wanted to. You had momentarily forgotten your fears, but now, seeing the scars, they rushed back into you. He followed your gaze to his hands, then frowned.

"It's alright, come on..." He encouraged, and he pulled you to your feet without waiting for you to extend your hand out.

"Oh, poor dear..." You sighed once you were on your feet. Your beautiful black mare now lay on her side on the cold ground by the entrance of a small cave. She breathed heavily and slowly flailed her legs around. All but one, that was clearly broken.

"I feel bad...it's my fault." He walked toward her, pulling the blades out of his 3DMG.

"W-wait! What are you doing!?"

"Putting her down..." He raised the sharp blade.

"WHAT!? NO! DONT!" You rushed toward him, and he lowered his arm.

"(Name)..." He looked at your watery eyes. "There's nothing you can do for an injured horse out here. We don't have the materials to help her, and she's dead weight now. We can't drag her around, we can't ride her anymore, and we'll get killed waiting on her to limp after us."

"But....but..." You gave up, shaking your head. You knew he wouldn't change his mind," I don't wanna watch. I'm going to try and make a small fire in the cave...come when you're done." You rubbed a tear off of your cheek, not wanting Eren to see it. He felt a pang in his chest as you walked off, disappointed in him.

"It'll be quick and painless..." You ignored him, running to the cave in tears.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

After quickly making a small fire you sat with your back against the cave wall. If there was one thing you learned from your hardcore camping trips with Uncle Erwin, it was how to build a fire. You shivered, as the fire barely provided any warmth at all. It was now pitch black out, and the cave echoed eerily in the night. Every movement you made rang out through the darkness, and the orange-red flames cast a glorious, radiant glow across your face and cascaded down the cave walls, slightly wavering and flickering.

As soon as you sat down you covered your ears with your hands, trying to stop the migraine that pulsated through your brain. You shook your head back and forth, crying hysterically.

"I can't take this anymore!" You shrieked. You made sure that you were far away from Eren as he pierced the horse's heart, but no matter how hard you tried to block it out, you could still hear the shrill , ear piercing cry of the dying horse from the cave. Now, as you sat there alone, you could still hear it, replaying over and over in your mind.

But of all the bad things that were happening right now, the horse actually wasn't the first thing on your mind. Pretty soon you would have to share that cave with Eren. Just the idea of being asleep, in your most vulnerable state with him around made your stomach churn uneasily. You had been fine so far, as long as he kept his distance, and your 3DMG worked in case you needed to escape. Really you just wanted to go to sleep an forget all about the titan boy.

 

After a few minutes you finally calmed down a bit. Your sobs had died down to just quiet sniffling and you tried to focus on only the crackling of the fire.

Eren finally entered the stuffy cave. He made sure to wipe all of the blood from the silver blade beforehand so you didn't have to see it.

"Hey!" He said cheerfully in attempt to lighten the mood. As he sat down, he noticed the wet gleam on your cheeks and the puffy red bags under your eyes,"Hey..." He repeated with concern. He scooted closer to you.

"Don't..." You warned, holding out your hand defensively. Eren tried to wipe a tear from your cheek, and you flinched away, "Don't! Just, stop!" After falling asleep on you, screaming at you, causing your horse to break its leg, and then putting it down, you were on your last nerve with him. He leaned back with a hurt expression.

"Look, I know this is all my fault and I'm sorry." He sighed, looking up," I just got a little worked up earlier," You ignored him, shivering slightly. You didn't want to risk going out for more firewood, but the fire was now a tiny pathetic version of its former self. The corners of his mouth turned downward. "You know, if you're cold, we could always share body heat. It doesn't have to be awkward or anything just-"

"No," you cut him off in a harsh tone, your cold blue cheeks turning pink,"I'm fine,"

"(Name), your teeth are chattering,"

"I said I'm f-fine!" He leaned back, shocked at the sudden outburst. After a minute of silent contemplation, his eyes closed slightly. You could tell he wanted to say something. He opened his mouth, then closed it, a defeated look on his face. He sighed.

"Do you not wanna sit close to me because you're mad at me...or," he hesitated,"...or is it because... you're afraid of me...?" Eren rested his chin on his knees, looking downward. Your eyes widened. "I saw the way you looked at my scars..." You puffed air out of your nostrils with regret. You felt bad now. You didn't know that he noticed. "It's ok if you are... I understand why...I know what I am," His brows furrowed.

"Eren..."

"A monster..."

"Eren, no! You're not, a monster! I-"

"But I am human too, (Name)." You closed your mouth," I'm not going to hurt you by my own will, and I can't turn into a titan unless I really want to or have a reason. It's true I can't control myself very well in titan form but... I'm getting better and I don't want you to be scared of me. I don't transform unless I absolutely have to, and even then I need permission from either Erwin, Levi or Hanji. I would never hurt you on purpose," you gave him an uncertain look." I promise..."

"I'm sorry...Eren," You looked to him sadly,"I...I didn't mean to make you feel bad or like a monster. You're not...I just...I was afraid, because I didn't understand. I didn't know you very well and I thought...I thought you were dangerous." Eren let out a breathy chuckle.

"Huh...I'm sorry if I gave you that impression." He moved closer to your shivering form. When you didn't shy away, he moved a little closer. Soon his body was touching yours, and the warmth radiating from his skin heated yours," I'm sure me screaming at you and killing your horse doesn't help," he grinned. Your cheeks glowed pink at his closeness.

"It's ok...I didn't mean to judge you before getting to know you. I'm sorry, too..." All of this was getting to your head. You felt like you were going crazy with stress. You didn't know how long you would last in this state. You just wanted to break down and cry for hours then fall asleep.

"Don't apologize...I completely understand your fear since- (Name)!" He exclaimed in surprise as you nuzzled your head into his shoulder. His words were cut off as your tears soaked through his shirt.

"E-Eren!" Your words shook heavily as you sobbed into the heat of his skin."I-I just wanna g-go home! I c-can't do this anymore! The titans and...and the h-horse and there's no f-food or water and it's cold!" You clenched onto his shirt, burying your face deeper into him.

"(Name)..." He brought one hand up to stroke your hair," It's gonna be okay." He really didn't really know if it was going to be okay, but he didn't know what else to say to comfort you. "I'm sure they'll send someone to come look for us, and if not, we can go search first thing in the morning." He wrapped his arms around your slender waist as you moved closer to him to keep warm.

"L-leave the cave and walk around without a h-horse?! You're c-crazy, and in the day time, too..."

"Heh," he laughed," Yeah, I guess you're right. That does sound like a pretty dangerous idea... But we are gonna starve in here if we don't find the others. Besides, if the titan finds us here during the day, we'll be cornered inside this cave."

"I guess...I guess that's a good point,"

"Anyway, we have our 3DMGs so if we do run into titans we can get to high ground."

"The ruins of that city are right behind us...why don't we look there for some supplies or shelter that's higher up? Might even be easier for us to see the scouts if they come close,"

"Sounds like a plan, but for now, we need to take advantage of these few hours of night time we have left. Go to sleep, you'll need to be on high alert tomorrow. I'll stay up for a few hours, just to keep watch," You close your eyes against his chest.

"Wake me up whenever you want to sleep, I'll take a turn as watch." He nodded. " We are so gonna die tomorrow," you yawned. Before Eren could retort you spoke again," Oh, sorry to be rude...I forgot to ask if you're okay with me falling asleep on you like this..."

"Y-yeah..." Eren reddened, resting his tired arms around your waist," It's fine..."

"Thanks, Eren,,," you closed your eyes and tried to drift off.

"Mm hm," he mumbled, before leaning back on the cave wall behind him.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

When you awoke you found- with slight embarrassment- that you and Eren had migrated from your sitting position to the cave floor. He lay flat on his back with his mouth open slightly, letting out little snores and soft breaths. His arms bent up so his hands rested under his head. You lay right next to him, your head on his ribs. His slow breathing comforted you as you awoke.

"Eren..." You tapped his chest.

"Mmmhhh!" He groaned, his brows furrowing over his still-closed eyes.

"Eren, wake up!" You shook him until his eyes opened with annoyance. "You fell asleep on your shift! What's wrong with you! We could've been killed!"

"Mmm...but we weren't," he said in a tired, raspy tone that made your senses tingle.

"Uggh! You're ridiculous! Get up!" You slapped his chest before standing up. It was amazing how this adorable, incredible boy that made you blush also constantly made you so cross.

You ran your hands through your messy hair before adjusting your jacket and making sure your 3DMG was working fine, "Ok, full gas," you said with relief.

Eren stood as well, irritated at how his 3DMG had caught on his shirt and made it roll and scrunch up uncomfortably.

"Unngh," he groaned, pulling the shirt off up over his head. You stopped what you were doing, frozen in place at the sight of him. His training had definitely paid off. The morning sun bounced off of his slender tan waist and glowed radiantly. When he bent over to unbuckle and release himself from the 3DMG, his abdominal muscles flexed slightly, defining them even more in the fantastic lighting. Muscular, rounded biceps tensed as he stretched his arms until they cracked, and he released a sigh of relief.

"Ahh...that's better," He looked over to you as he began to pull his shirt back over his head. A look of puzzlement crossed his face as he noticed the pink blush on yours," ...what?" He asked obliviously. Boys could be so dense.

"Ah, n-nothing!" You fumbled with your 3DMG as he put his back on. "Y-you should test yours out, too!" He smirked, giggling at your exspression. When you commanded him like he was a small child, your face scrunched up in such a ridiculous way that he actually found quite adorable. You were kinda cute when you were angry. "Wipe that smirk off your face! We have to get going so just-"

"I am! I am! I'm goin'..." He walked over to the edge of the cave, stood in a sturdy stance, and tried to shoot out his 3DMG. It clicked softly, but nothing happened. He tried again.

"Uh...Eren?" You looked over toward him.

"No, no, don't come over here it's fine!"

"I think yours is broken..."

"No, it's not!" You glared and sighed. Why did he have to be so damn stubborn? It clicked repeatedly, refusing to work. Minutes passed of him checking the gas, playing with the blades, empty clicks. You were growing impatient.

"Eren, it's broken! We have to go just-"

"UUUAAHH!" He took off the broken gear in frustration and threw it on the ground," Piece of junk!" He kicked it.

"Eren! C-calm down!" He was terrifying when he was mad, and he was mad often.

"How am I supposed to get around without it!"

"I'll-"

"You'll what!?" He screamed at you, his face red. You stepped back, looking down. He immediately regretted seeing the hurt expression on your face. "(Name), I'm sorry..." He ran his hand through his hair, exhaling to calm himself.

"You can have mine..."

"Absolutely not."

"But Eren-!"

"No! You'll get killed!"

"And what about you? You can't outrun the titans either!"

"It's more important for you to be safe!" He yelled. Your anger faded. You looked down, rubbing your arm.

"...Eren you know that's not true. You're humanity's hope..."

"Yeah but...when I see the Commander...the way he looks at you..." He pinched the bridge of his nose," I wouldn't be able to face him again if I didn't bring you back in one piece. Plus..." He hesitated," I don't want anything to happen to you, either," he admitted.

"Eren..." Your face shaded pink," That's...that's very sweet of you,"

"Yeah, well..." He blushed as well. " We should probably head out now... I'll at least bring the blades from my 3DMG...might as well have some defense..."

"I'm scared, Eren. What if something happens to you because you can't get away?"

"I always have my titan form up my sleeve-"

"No! That isabsolutely not an option." You stated plainly.

"Well then what do you expect me to d-!"

"I'll...I'll, carry you or something...if we need to get to higher ground. I can hold onto you and then-"

"You really think you can carry my weight? You couldn't even lift me off of you on the horse!"

"Well! I-"

"That's enough! We are done talking about this! We are wasting time! Don't worry about me! Let's just go!"

"You are so aggravating!" You stormed out of the cave with him right on your tail.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

It only took a few minutes to walk to the city nearby. As you two carefully and quietly inched your way through the abandoned alleyways and streets, it all seemed strangely familiar. The architecture, the way people hung laundry and had baskets left everywhere, it wasn't much different from life behind the walls. You shuddered to think that not too long ago, people just like you lived here. This could've just as easily been you, if you were in the wrong place at the wrong time. It was all luck and fate.

The hot air hung humidly around you and made you itch and sweat with irritation. You walked next to Eren's shoulder, clearly distressed.

"You look stressed...what's wrong?," He rumbled in his usual, confident tone.

"Gee, I don't know, Eren. Why do you think I may be stressed?!" You whispered angrily.

"You wanna talk about something? Might get your mind off of things..."

"That's a terrible idea." You shook your head, amazed at his stupidity.

You suddenly gasped, startling Eren in the process. You grabbed his sleeve and pulled him behind what was left of an old house on the corner.

"Shh," you covered his mouth as he tried to speak,"Look," you whispered, dragging your finger across the tops of the buildings. Numerous titans, each one bigger then the next slowly roamed around, a little too close for comfort. Then again, a titan a million miles away was still too close for comfort.

"They smelled us..." Eren inferred.

"No, they probably hear you running your mouth!" You lead him on the opposite direction. "This way," You motioned for him to follow.

"So...if it's not too sensitive a subject...what happened to your parents?" You froze as he whispered close to your ear. You decided now was not the time to get emotional, although a nerve had been struck. "It's ok, if it hurts to say it. My mom was taken from me, too," Eren normally wouldn't be so foolish as to talk in titan territory. But the old wall Maria setting reminded him of home...and he was lost in his memories.

"Eren! You're gonna get us killed! Just...be quiet!" your voice shook.

"I'm gonna kill them , (Name). I'm gonna kill them all," he looked to the sky, lost in some sort of trance.

You already were aware of the fact that he was a survivor of the fall of wall Maria, and that his mother was killed in front of his eyes. It seemed to be all he talked about back in training. You could always hear him in the dinner hall all the way from your table. You looked to him, feeling sympathetic as the devastated look in his eyes told you he was bringing back harsh memories. You sighed, pulling him into a nearby building that provided what seemed like enough shelter. You were out of sight, at least.

You sat him down on the floor and gazed intensely into his eyes.

"Look, I know this place brings back painful memories for you, and it does for me too... but right now, and I know this sounds terrible, but I need you to be fully here. No daydreaming, no reminiscing. I can't have you get hurt because you aren't paying attention. I told my uncle the same thing..."

You could see a tear place itself at the side of his eye, but it refused to fall down.

"Hey, hey..." You wiped the corner of his eye." Please... be strong for me. You're supposed to be the strong one," you forced a playful giggle," Don't cry, please. If you start crying, then there's no hope for me."

"I'm...I'm not crying," He mumbled almost angrily, like he was mad at himself for the childish tears.

"Eren... I wanna tell you something." He looked up, sniffling, signaling that he was listening. "I know sometimes it may feel like no one understands... Like only your friends from Shingashina know your pain and feel your anger and hatred. But..." You looked down. It was hard to bring up this part." Eren...when my parents divorced...I was still very young, but they had serious problems...so my father moved far away." You shook your head," Eren, he moved to Shingashina. I never got to visit him before..." You covered your mouth with your hand," He didn't escape when the wall was breached. His house wasn't even near the wall. It was way far back and he should've made it out but he didn't"

Eren's eyes widened at your words.

"I didn't experience the actual terror of the titans then,, but then in Trost..." You suppressed tears," My mother was a part of the Garrison Regiment. Her 3DMG broke and..."

"Stop," Eren put a hand on your shoulder." You don't have to say it," A tear rolled down his tanned cheek," I'm so sorry I asked you...made you say that,"

"No, no Eren, please don't feel bad. I wouldn't have said anything if I didn't want to. It was good to let it out. I just wanna make it home...with you next to me." He had a shocked expression," I can't return without you. It would be too much. So please...be strong for me?" You grinned as salty drops trailed down into your mouth. He nodded.

 

Slowly, you leaned in towards him. Closing your eyes softly, your perked lips pressed against the skin of his cheek. He shuddered, surprised, then smiled sheepishly, closing his lids too. A shade of rose tinted his face.

 

"UUNNGH!" Your scream was muffled by Eren's cheek bone as you were launched into him with force from behind. The wall behind you burst inwards, sending you both flying as a huge hand forced it's way through the already weak old wall. You landed with a small whine of pain into Eren's lap. The flying dust and bricks hit you roughly full on.

"(Name)! Are you alright!?" Eren coughed through the thick smoke. You brought your hand to your forehead. You pulled it away to reveal a big red smudge. "(Name)! That cut looks pretty deep, are you okay?!"

"Gah!" You wiped the blood onto your shirt, scanning Eren's face. His face and neck were coated in little marks and blood trails, too "Don't worry about that right now! They've found us. We gotta move!" You pulled him up by the collar of his shirt. The titan that broke down the wall luckily couldn't get it's fat arm all the way in to grasp you, but it's dangerous hands still flailed around desperately in an attempt to grab one of you.

"Eren! Are you gonna be ok?!" You asked. Eren gritted his teeth, dragging his leg behind him as he leaned on you for support. He placed all of his weight on his right leg, limping heavily. Titans were already on your tail as soon as you started to walk down the cracked street. At least three looked down at you with watering mouths.

"You need to leave me! Just go! I'm gonna get you killed!" He held his thigh.

"There's no way!" You grabbed onto him as the beasts approached.

"What're you doing!?" Eren tried to fight you off as you slung him onto your back. His weight forced you down considerably. Normally, you would've gone down immediately, but the adrenaline pumping through your veins gave you the strength to pull him on top of you. "Put me down!"

Panicked sweat dripped down your forehead. You just hoped your 3DMG was strong enough to support the weight of two. You'd seen it done before, but the extra person then was smaller then Eren. Then again, it most likely wouldn't be Eren's extra weight, but the lack of balance that would be your downfall.

You shot out your 3DMG toward a roof top. It sunk into the stone firmly, and began to pull you up with a screech of effort and stress.

"You're crazy!," Eren held tightly to you as the ground below him disappeared and he was whisked along with you."Wait, my blades!"

"We have to leave them!" His weight crushed against your spine and he gripped roughly onto your shoulders, the only thing keeping him from falling. Your gear whipped you around with difficulty and you were thrown onto the roof top. The harsh landing immediately threw Eren off of you as you both rolled across the stone. Your pant leg ripped leaving a nice red scrape against your torn knee flesh.

"It...it worked...it worked!" You laughed, ignoring the pain.

"D-don't celebrate yet," Eren pushed himself to his feet, relying heavily on his uninjured leg. "This isn't a very tall building." He pointed to the two fifteen meters who wandered in your direction slowly, their heads high above the height of the roof you took refuge on," The bigger ones are still coming,"

You felt on the verge of tears again. Every victory, every small joy was always snuffed out. You were never safe. One step forward, three steps back.

"Well then what do we do!? I'm out of ideas! My gear could barely get both of us this, far! There aren't any taller buildings nearby, and I don't think I can get us to the ones farther away," You pulled at your hair frantically.

"You can go on without me, you know! Your gear would get just you around fine!" You completely ignored his comment, irritated that he repeatedly suggested leaving him behind.

"Well, we have to try," you grabbed him once again," Hold on tight, Jeager," You looked at the surrounding buildings for a suitable target. Eren locked his hands together, wrapped around your neck. "Damn! The they're everywhere!" You propelled past a 10 meter. It's hands reached out, but just missed you.

Bouncing between buildings, you carried Eren down the street, much slower then you would've liked.

You shot out your gear to fly around a corner, but what was waiting for you was an unpleasant surprise.

"Watch out!" Eren yelled upon impact with the frenzied face of a 3 meter titan. As you crashed right into its nose, it grimaced, bringing a large hand up. With all of its force, it smacked you to the ground.

"GAH!" You landed roughly onto the street, your blades flying out of your hands. You could hear a crack and hiss from your gear.

Eren grabbed your shoulders, pulling you to your feet just before the titan could bring its foot down on top of you.

Eren attempted to pull you in the opposite direction, but found it blocked by at least three of the large beasts. He looked around, panicked, and caught sight of the only escape. He limped over and dove into a wide side alley, dragging you behind him.

Now there was no exit. The titans moved closer, blocking the entrance to the alley. The two of you backed away as far as you could, but eventually hit a wall.

"We're trapped! Eren!" Desperately, you tried to make your gear work, and it merely clicked and hissed."...It's broken...no...it can't be! No!" You clicked it over and over again!" Work! Work!" You started yelling hysterically. Tears sprung from your eyes like rivers,"Please! P-please!!" You pleaded with the 3DMG as if it had its own mind, as if it were choosing not to work for you.

You gasped, looking to Eren. This is how she must've felt. These intense feelings of fear bursting through you like a firecracker, must've been your mother's last thoughts too. This is how she died, and this was how you would meet your end too.

"T-this is i-it, Eren..." You sobbed,"We're g-gonna die! It's o-over!" You clutched onto him with shaking hands. "I'm s-so sorry! I couldn't k-keep us s-safe!" You screeched in a fit on insanity.

"No, not yet..." Eren pushed you behind him, backing up,"Stay back."

"Wha-" You wiped your eyes to see clearly. Eren brought his hand up to his mouth. "No! Eren, don't!" This was the last thing you wanted to happen. How were you supposed to bring raging titan Eren back to the other scouts?

"Do you wanna die!? I'm not dying here!" He yelled with an almost inhuman rasp.

"You can't-!"

"Why would we die when I can save us?! I'm gonna keep you safe!" He opened his mouth.

"Eren!" You reached out, grabbing onto his wrist a little too late. He bit down, and blood dripped from the wound.

"No!" You shouted as a gust of wind swirled around you two. A deafening crack of thunder rang from the sky. You looked up to see a huge golden bolt shoot down from the clouds and when the explosion hit the ground, you were thrown back in a cloud of dust.

Your back hit the wall of the alley, letting out a loud crack upon impact. Closing your eyes tightly in pain, you slowly slid down the wall into a sitting position. It wasn't until you headr an earth-shaking roar that your eyes shot open. You gasped, looking for the source, but the dirt and smoke in the air had not yet settled.

Quickly you undid the buckles to your 3DMG. It was useless now that it didn't work, and the dead weight would just slow you down.

You tried to stand up, holding your aching backbone, but as the ground beside you shook and rumbled, you immediately fell back down.

"Eren..." You looked up in awe. As the dust rested you noticed the large foot in front of your face. You followed the ankle up to muscle-clad legs then a firm torso. "Oh, Eren..." You clutched your chest with a shaking hand. Your whole body trembled in shock as your eyes took in a mess of long dark hair, pointed ears, and a fierce, intimidating pair of bright green eyes high above the building tops.

You covered your ears to protect them from deep growl that Eren let loose from the bottom of his throat.

"Eren..." He didn't even glance at you before leaping forward into the titan in front of him. With a roar he knocked it to the ground. He landed on top of it, drooling and snarling like a wild hound. The crash shook the earth around you, and you clutched onto the dirt for dear life.

Eren gripped tightly onto the titan's head of long blonde hair, and decapitated in with a sickening ripping noise. You held your stomach, gagging at the sight before you.

Another titan, much smaller then Eren but nimble and quick jumped and latched onto Eren's chest. They both stumbled backwards into the alley, and fell, nearly crushing you.

"AHH!" You covered your head, preparing to be smashed. Breathing in deeply, you backed up against the wall as Eren's head landed at your feet. He strangled and ripped at the titan on top of him. "Eren!" He didn't acknowledge you in the slightest. Turning the little titan around in his hands, he leaned up and bit deeply into the nape of its neck, and ripped the flesh from it. The titan fell limp, it's blood splattered everywhere and dripped onto your skin, scorching it lightly. "Ow!" You yelled as the heated blood sizzled then evaporated, leaving little red patches on your arms and face. "I've gotta get out of here!" You resolved, knowing you wouldn't last much longer in this titan battling arena.

Dirt flew into the air as Eren stood up to take down the next titan. Two of them wrapped firmly onto his ankles. He shook them around, trying to remove them. Covering your mouth with your sleeve, you slid to the edge of the alley and snuck your way out unnoticed. As you began to run down the street, you looked behind you to see the two titans dead on the ground, their corpses already beginning to sizzle and disintegrate.

With no other titans nearby, Eren finally stopped moving. His huge form stood tall, breathing heavily. His fists clenched tightly, veins popping out, and his defined muscles twitched. He looked toward the ground, as if he was bored with no titans left to kill.

You stopped running, and looked up at him. By now you were a good distance away. You couldn't tell if he was in there. Well, he definitely in there but, there was no way to tell if he was there mentally; If he was in control of his titan. He wasn't attacking you, so maybe it was safe to say he was still there. He looked a lot safer in this still mode. He ceased his snarling and his eyes no longer glowed bright green, but just looked like the big beautiful eyes of the Eren you knew.

"E-Eren?" Eren's ear twitched. You spoke up. "Eren!?" His head snapped toward your direction, as if he had just now realized your presence. His large brows furrowed angrily, but he seemed to understand your words.

"Oh, thank God," you sighed, relieved when Eren's huge body slowly stomped toward you. He kept his intense gaze on you the entire time, his steps shaking the ground. He walked until he loomed directly over you. Gazing up at him as he cast a dark shadow onto you, you're confidence was slipping, and you felt yourself stumble back a little. He truly was a terrifying sight.

"Eren?" His eye twitched at the sound of your high pitched nervousness. He growled through his teeth first, then opened his mouth in a full on, powerful roar, his spit flying into your face.

 

That's when you knew. The Eren you knew was gone.

 

You backed away, prepared to run for your life, until a large hand closed firmly around your body.

"Eren, no!" You shrieked in anguish. You were lifted into the air like a tiny doll, your head and shoulders the only things not covered by his huge hand. His fingers wrapped tightly around your body, gluing your arms to your sides. He slowly brought you closer to his face,"Oh no! No, Eren please! Please don't!" You sobbed. Prepared to be swallowed whole, you closed your eyes and let the tears flow freely.

To your surprise, Eren only roared again in your face. You turned your head to the side, trying to avoid the steaming saliva and hot breath. The force of his yell made your hair fly backwards and blew the teardrops off of your face.

"Eren, STOP! Please, Eren... put me down!" He grunted angrily at your words. Nothing you said seemed to work. In fact, it seemed to only make him angrier. He held you away from his face again, and examined you with harsh eyes.

"Eren, please! I know you're in there, Eren! If you weren't, you would've already killed me by now," You cried out desperately," But you didn't! You're hesitating because I know you're still in there!! I know you know me! You know my face!" You screamed. "Eren! Er-" Your words were choked off as his grip on you tightened. You could feel your elbows being forced to dig into your ribs.

"E-Er.." You couldn't even get the words out anymore as the pressure on your lungs increased. "I c-can't-" You began to cough and wheeze. Every sound you made only made him angrier. He squeezed you even harder.

"GAH!" You felt a crack in your side as your elbow finally pushed too far into you. "AGGHH!" You screeched in pain. You could tell, at least two of your ribs had to be broken. "Oh, God!" You screamed at the top of your lungs as you wept, the pain on your left side increasing massively.

"Er-en..." Your lungs no longer had any room to expand in his strangling grip," I can't...bre-"

Your vision began to shake and blur. You gasped for air, gazing into Eren's eyes. "Eren...p-please." You were too weak, in too much pain to answer in anything but a whisper.

He's gonna kill me, you thought over and over again. This is it...Eren.

Glancing over Eren's shoulder, you could see your hope for salvation. It was funny, you never thought you'd be thanking a titan for saving your life, but there it was, a titan just as big as Eren, quickly tottering toward him. Eren was too focused on crushing your lungs to even notice. You hoped, prayed that it would move faster. You eyes widened at it, willing it to attack.


	3. To Invoke Erwin's Wrath

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Eren x Reader relationship is on again, as Eren regains control of his titan form. We see Erwin's neice and Eren get closer again, and grow to even care about each other as close friends. Everything will be okay, as long as Eren can keep you safe and alive with your current injuries. Hopefully, he can get you back to camp and the other Scouts, without invoking Erwin's wrath.

Glancing over Eren's shoulder, you could see your hope for salvation. It was funny. You never thought you'd be thanking a titan for saving your life, but there it was, a titan just as big as Eren, quickly tottering toward him. Eren was too focused on crushing your lungs to even noticed. You hoped, prayed that it would move faster. You eyes widened at it, willing it to attack.

As if reading your mind, the titan leapt into Eren, latching it's sharp teeth into the back of his shoulder. With a deep yelp of surprise, Eren went down.

He landed with a thud onto his chest. His arm crashed to the ground, still holding you tightly. You whined loudly when his fingers pressed into your broken ribs.

The titan on his back pulled and ripped at his shoulders, and his grip on you loosened as he tried to shake it off. Immediately fresh air rushed into your lungs.

You winced, gritting your teeth. It was extremely painful for you to even breath when you inhaled and your lungs pushed out your shattered ribs.

Eren's fingers released you when he attempted to stand and destroy the titan attacking him. You took this opportunity to crawl out of his palm and fall to the ground below. Every move you made brought a pang of stinging pain to your side.

For a moment you sat there, completely still on your back. You couldn't even move, bathed in pain. You felt broken and disgusting, exhausted and hopeless. Dried blood crusted across your forehead, dirt creased ever curve and cranny of your body. Sweat and tears soaked your hair and face.

You finally resolved to get up. Sitting up, you felt the crunch in your ribs and slowly got to your feet, your body trembling in agony.

You dragged yourself down the street and away from Eren and the wild titan. You could barely push yourself to go any faster then a slow crawl. With no titans in your way, you eventually reached the edge of the town where you had entered before. The caves on the edge of the forest were within your view. If you could just make it through the small open field into one of them, or head into the woods, you could wait for someone to come help you. Whatever you did, you just wanted to do it fast. You needed desperately to sit down, knowing you couldn't last much longer with the searing pain.

Checking for danger first, you got to your feet and slowly made your way across.

Titan bodies lay sprawled across the street before him. Eren groaned, looking down at his steaming hand. It was trying to regenerate itself quickly as the last titan he fought viciously ripped it off.

Looking around, Eren's titan found no more foes to deal with, and looked down again at the large pile of bones and corpses that he caused.

The air was silent, the wind did not blow, no titans stirred nearby. He just stood there, and much like a bored animal, he found himself at a loss for thought. He didn't know what to do, there was no emotion, no rage inside of him and no one to take it out on.

For the first time that day, in the humid silence, Eren Jeager looked down at his hands through titan eyes, and realized that they were his.

W-what? Eren's thoughts exploded, all coming to him at once. The rush of information made his head pound and ache. His vision seemed to clear, and when he tried to move his hand, the titan hand responded, clenching and releasing. I...I'm...I'm in my titan form? The large beast groaned, mimicking the confusion and stress of the host in its nape. When...? He couldn't recall anything, or changing at all for that matter. Why am I...why am I just now waking up...just now aware of this? He looked around, knowing nothing of the place he was in.

He took a few experimental steps, confirming that he did in fact have complete control of the enormous body. Now he just had to figure out why he was here...and why he was all alone. Searching around for any sign, any source of life at all, all he found were titan corpses. He grunted, not remembering killing any of them and surprised at the amount.

He followed his own large footprints and destroyed areas on the dirt road back to where the battle started. When the tracks ended, he found himself in a thin, shaded area that seemed familiar enough; a small alley that he had just enough room to squeeze his large body into.

I...I know this place. He looked around. I'm missing something. Something doesn't feel right. Far below him on the ground, something shined and caught his eye. He bent down, picking up some little metal instrument so small he could probably wear it as a ring. He played with it, rolled it around in his palm curiously. Wait! He gasped internally. This is... It's a 3DMG...so...there must be people nearby. He brought it to his face and sniffed it. A sweet, fruity smell mixed with a scent of musky sweat and dirt filled his nose. His eyes widened, recognizing the scent fragrance almost immediately.

Sudden images flooded through his nerves. That scent came when you rested your head on his chest. It came when you kissed his cheek. That scent was you, and he remembered everything like a bucket of cold water hitting his face.

...(Name)!

He threw the small device to the ground, grunting slightly in frustration. He had to find you, before another titan did. Just the thought of you being injured or worse shot adrenaline spikes up his spine and made him run faster. His large footsteps shook the city as he charged through the streets looking for you.

Eren reached the city's entrance, where the dirt road turned to stone and two of the last intact buildings stood proud. Looking over a vast clearing of emerald grass in front of him, a little dot of color could be seen against the green blades.

(Name)! He thought, and his titan released a groan of relief. He could see your limping form far off, making your way towards the caves. Determinedly, he started to sprint.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

As an eruption of sound and rumbling ground arose from behind you, you checked to see what was coming toward you. Almost afraid to turn around, you turned your whole body, as twisting your upper half alone would've killed your ribs.

"No..." You saw Eren's titan gaining feet on you quickly, and you turned back around, and bolted forward with every ounce of energy you had left, every shred of the will to live. "AHHGG!" You held back sobs as an immense pain that you didn't think it was possible to feel radiated from your side, sending little electric sparks throughout your body. All you could do was hold the injury as you ran, and hope it didn't get any worse.

You pushed your body to it's breaking point. It felt as if your legs would buckle at any second. Your pace got slower, your heart rate faster, and the large titan was gaining on you fast.

Why is she running from me? Eren looked on with puzzlement.

The caves were your only salvation, but Eren was faster, and he was too close now for you to escape. Before you could swing around to the cave's entrance, Eren's large foot stepped over you, blocking the path.

"AH!" You jumped back, startled. There was no where left to go. You were now trapped between Eren and the outside of the cave. You backed up, your back against the stone.

Your breathing rate became rapid, looking up at the towering monster.

This is it, you thought. I can't run anymore. Eren's...he's gonna kill me...

Breathing hard, you could not make the sounds to weep, your mouth and throat felt glued shut. Silent tears rolled down from your wide eyes. You still held your ribs with one hand, and clawed the stone behind you with the other.

Eren looked down at your shaking body with a pang of sorrow in his heart. Seeing you covered in dirt, sweat, tears, and blood made him genuinely hurt inside. He wondered why you ran from him, though, why you didn't stay with him where he could keep you safe.

Slowly, your trembling body sunk down to the ground, sitting with a cringe on your face. Eren saw your dirty hand clutching your side, and immediately, his memory came back to him. He saw images of you being crushed in his very own hands, of your cries of agony and tortured expression. All at once they completely ensnared his mind.

Holy shit...I did that... He thought with shock. I...I hurt her. (Name)... 

He couldn't bare the sight of you being afraid of him. After he promised that you wouldn't be harmed, that he would keep you safe, he was the one who almost killed you. He couldn't stand it. The last thing he wanted was for you to be afraid of him. It was all his fault, and he hated himself for it. Over these few days, he had grown to care for you and want to keep you alive almost as much as Erwin did...and yet here you were, cowering in fear like a trapped animal because of him.

"Well, w-what are you waiting for!?" You screamed up at him in complete rage,"J-just kill me already! Stop drawing it out! That's sick and c-cruel. Just do it!" you spat, hissing furiously.

Eren's brows furrowed, hurt by your words. He would've cried if he could've.

Eren brought himself down to his knees with an ungraceful and abrupt thud right in front of you. A gust of wind flew out and blew your hair into your face. It covered all but one eye, completing your insane, caged animal look.

Slowly, he reached out his hand toward you, being cautious not to scare you, but of course to no avail. You gasped, shoving yourself back against the wall as much as you could. Hugging your shaking knees, you squeezed your eyes shut tightly.

He reached a single large finger out, careful not to crush you with his strength. As he brushed the hair gently out of your eyes, you whimpered, turning your head to the side. You winced, trying to pull away from him. When he tried to make you look up at him, you stood, avoiding his touch.

He pulled back his hand a little, but it still hovered a few feet away. Wondering why you weren't dead by now, you opened your eyes, braced yourself with courage, and looked up at him.

You gasped. The eyes staring back at you were soft, kind, and full with a sense of warmth. They were wide and shiny, like the Eren you knew and had grown to care about.

"N-no..." You shook you head in disbelief," You're n-not Eren anymore. You're not h-him," You trusted Eren to be in control last time, and you payed the price for it. You wouldn't let your guard down now. He nodded, and you gasped. "Y-you...you can understand me?" He nodded again, puffing air out of his nostrils loudly.

Involuntarily, your body was drawn to him, still cautious. You moved off of the wall, taking a single test step. Eren held his hand out flat by your feet.

"Wha..." Your puzzled voiced trailed off as Eren grunted, startling you. Wiggling his fingers, he welcomed you into his palm. "Oh...no...no way," You spoke seriously, holding your side. As he moved his hand closer, you took a step back, shaking your head rapidly. Hoping to meet the wall again, you gasped as your back met with the soft, warm flesh of Eren's other hand, wedged between you and the cave.

"N-no!" He tapped you slightly with his hand, making sure not to push you too hard. You toppled over, loosing your balance like a new born faun, and stumbled into his palm face first.

"AH!" The pain of your ribs making contact with his hand shot through you. He grunted a sorry. "I said...I said no!" You brought yourself up to your hands and knees. The flesh below you was almost burning hot.

Eren raised his hand up before you could jump down. Careful not to drop you, he brought his hand up in front of his face. You trembled in fear, backing as far away from his mouth as you could. Your back hit the large fingers that curled up to prevent you from falling.

"P-please," You breathed heavily. Eren shook his head, trying to show that his feelings were not hostile. "Please. Put me d-down."

The corners of his eyes wrinkled as they do when a human smiles, and he shook his head. He poked you playfully with his finger, pushing you over.

"H-Hey, stop!" You sat back up, embarrassed. You looked to him again. His big teal-green eyes smiled back, just like every other time you'd seen him. There was definitely a human in there, for you were sure a beast could never replicate the comforting smile that Eren Jeager released.

"Eren...?" He made a noise in reply,"You-" You crawled forward to his large left thumb. "You're really in there, aren't you?" He nodded. You smiled, tears brimming your eyes as you shook your head in disbelief and awe,"Eren...you're back!"

You wrapped your tiny body around his thumb. Your arms didn't even make it around. It was like hugging a tree trunk.

"Oh, Eren..." For once, you felt safe, tears streaming from your eyes onto the titan you held so tightly. His warmth pulsed through you. "E-Eren. Eren, Eren," you sobbed, repeating his name over and over again. "I thought I was all alone! I thought you were gone for good! But why now? How did you regain control?" You asked, knowing he couldn't answer.

You felt so small and protected in his large hands. He was like a child lovingly holding their small pet. A pleased purring noise rumbled through his chest and he leaned forward, pressing his large nose into you and nuzzling your side.

"Ow...Eren, that really hurts," you laughed hoarsely, laying one hand on his nose. You gently stroked it. "Eren,"

"Urr?" He grumbled in reply.

"We need to find the scouts. My ribs..." You held them tenderly,"they're broken for sure, I know it. I don't know how much longer I can bear the pain. Even breathing hur-" you trailed off, seeing a guilty and apologetic look cross his large titan features. His pointed ears drooped."Eren, it's ok... I forgive you,"

He shook his head in refusal. He didn't feel like he deserved your forgiveness.

"Yes!" You said forcefully. "I forgive you and I don't want you to feel bad anymore. You may have hurt me but you did also save our lives from those titans back there. Plus, you weren't even in control of yourself so you can't be blamed," you cooed, petting his nose again.  
"Eren, do you think you could walk us around until we find them? It's probably not safe for you to be human form right now expect ally now that neither of us have gear or horses."

"Uhh," he nodded enthusiastically.

And so, with you sitting safely in his large palm, he began to stride into the woods.

"Eren, back past the old ruins and to the south, that's where Levi said they were staying for the night," You pointed," It's still early so they may not have sent anyone out to look for us yet, and should still be camped." You said enthusiastically. For the first time since you rode out there with Eren alone, things were looking up. "Hopefully, we find them soon. Who knows how long you can be in there before it becomes unsafe,"

Eren's large stomps echoed through the forest. Each step he took shook your whole body and shot resonating pain into your core.

"Ugh, Eren?" He looked down into his hand, still walking at a steady pace. "Eren...the pain..." You sprawled out across his palm on your back, looking up at free skies.

I know, (Name)...I know. He thought to himself, looking up as he reached the curved rim of trees that marked the entrance to the forest. Beyond him, a huge clearing of swaying, untamed grass was scattered with tatters of ruined buildings and bones.

"This...this is it," You groaned. It was definitely the place where you split from Levi and the others. Titanic bleached white skeletons and the destroyed barn sat eerily still in the wind. Clearly, squad Levi had won this fight. "What? What is it!?" You questioned after hearing Eren growl. You looked in the direction of his snarling, hateful gaze to see two naked monsters slowly making their way across the clearing opposite of you.

"It's about time..." You glared at them," It was getting a little too peaceful," You uttered sarcastically.

But something didn't seem right. Besides the two titans opposite you, you could feel the presence of danger even closer to you, yet you saw nothing. Where was it coming from?

"Eren!" You gasped, twisting around in his palm, but a little too late. A screeching titan came from the woods behind you. It leapt and hopped onto Eren's back.

Eren roared in surprise, tumbling forward. You lost your balance as his hand suddenly jolted forward, 

Your entire life flashed before your eyes as you stumbled backwards and off of his hand.

 

"E-Eren!!" Everything seemed to move in slow motion, except for your rapidly beating heartbeat. Eren turned, looking to you with anxiety. He groaned, reaching out to you. He dove, trying desperately to catch you safely in his hand. Your hands reached out, too, clawing the air as if it would help you reach Eren.

The titan tackled him viciously to the ground, preventing all chances of catching you. Your eyes widened and locked with Eren's just before you crashed to the hard ground.

You screamed out in absolute pain as your left shoulder made impact with the ground. The full weight of your body slammed down and you could feel the bone in your left arm snap. You collapsed on the grass, convulsing in the stinging pain that shot through your broken ribs and now broken arm. The whole left side of your body felt like it was a burning fire. The pain was unbearable. Half of your body felt paralyzed and the air was knocked out of your lungs.

You gasped for air, frozen to the ground like a dying fish out of water. Your whole body slightly trembled. The pain shooting through your veins overwhelmed your entire body. Your vision blurred in and out of focus.

"Er-Er....en..." You could barely push out the words. You could barely see him, and what you did see looked like a blurry, cross-eyes mess. Eren tore through the titan that attacked him and caused him to drop you. The other two from across the field had made their way to him as well, and he easily destroyed both in a fit of absolute rage.

Breathing heavily, he threw their corpses to the ground before rushing immediately over to your aid. He panicked seeing your limp body looking up at him with glazed over eyes.

(Name)! Shit, shit... (Name), please be okay... Worried thoughts rushed through his mind. Please, please you have to survive. You can't die on me now! This is all my fault. (Name), I'm so sorry...

You were on the verge of passing out from pain. Your eyes rolled backwards, your field of view brightening and darkening on its own will. Weakly, you used your right arm to roll yourself over so you now faced the sky. The left arm merely hung like a dead weight on your side, now useless and numb.

Eren lowered himself to his knees, getting as close to you as he possibly could. Words could not describe the frustration he felt in not being to communicate with you in this form. He had no idea what to do. Were you okay? How bad was the pain? What did you want him to do with your injured body? What was he to do in this situation? His brain felt as if it might explode. He was afraid to pick you up, to even touch you. Right now you were like a fragile piece of frost that might chip if he dared to disturb it. He grumbled, shuffling on his knees. He tried to get you to respond, to do anything. Slowly, looking for any and all signs of emotion or distress, he attempted to slide his hand under your body.

"AHHGNN! EREN!" You wretched in absolute pain. "STOP!" He remained completely still, startled by the sudden outburst."That hurts, Eren! I can't...everything on my left side is broken I can't even move..." 

Well then how the hell am I supposed to get you out of here?! Eren raged internally.

"Eren, I can't tolerate any more pain please don't pick me up...just," He knew what you were going to say and it infuriated him. "Just leave me he-" You gasped as Eren leaned down, his hot breath covering you as he roared in your face.

 

Damn it, (Name)! Why would you even say that! Eren didn't mean to lash out like that, but for someone as determined and loyal as him, it just enraged him that you were even suggesting that. It wasn't even an option to him to leave you behind. You can be so damn dramatic sometimes! Why don't you ever just fight?! Fight to live! 

"E-Eren?" He couldn't speak, but he wanted to let you know that he was sorry if he had just scared you. He closed his eyes, a low, soft rumble formed in his chest. As gently as he possibly could, he scooped you up into both hands. You let out a small hiss, arching your back. He brought you to his face, and buried his nose in your hair, nuzzling you like a small kitten. 

The long, untamed strands of hair on his head fell down, covering you like the curtains of a canopy bed. "I understand, Eren. I'm sorry..." Your cheeks warmed at his cute gesture. "Eren, listen to me, I nee- we need to find the scouts. This pain is unbearable and I feel very faint. This is just too much... I need to see my uncle again." Just mentioning your beloved Erwin brought tears to the corners of your soft (e/c) orbs

Hearing the rustling of trees, you turned your head... a little too quickly. You hissed, trying to ignore the jolt of discomfort that shot down your spine. Following the sound, you could see two titans emerge from the forest clearly even through blurred vision.

"Eren...stay on your guard, look." You nodded in the direction of the two beasts. Eren instinctively let out the raspy snarl of a threatened animal. He immediately moved in their direction, stopping when you let out a small whimper. Any movement he made caused you such agony, but he had to move. It wasn't safe to set you down in titan territory but he couldn't fight them with you in his hands.

 

The titans approached, one teetering like a small child. It was faster then the other, and quickly made it to Eren, swinging it's arm out at him forcefully. Eren ducked, stumbling backwards.

"OW!" He curled up his fingers to prevent you rolling off of the edge of his hand. He would not drop you again. It was a miracle that you survived the fall last time, and in your current state, he knew you wouldn't survive if any other injury occurred.

What do I do?! What can I-

Eren's thoughts were cut off when the titan attached itself to his arm, sinking its teeth into his bicep. He growled, trying with all of his power to shake it off and keep you still in the other hand. The other titan was almost upon him, and he knew there was no way he could handle two like this.

What do I do?! He looked around, but it was pointless. There was no where safe and high up to set you in a large, empty, flat field of grass. Think, Eren, think! He screamed angrily at himself. Somewhere where you had minimal movement, but he could still use his hands. He thought hard, until an idea hatched in his brain. Oh God...this is a bad idea...this is a terrible idea... But...

He had no other choice, and no time to think of a better option. Quickly, he bent his leg upward to kick off the titan on his arm with all the strength he had.

I'm so sorry, (Name)...please don't freak out...

Backing safely away from the two titans, Eren raised his hand, and you along with it, to his face.

"E-Eren?" His eyes widened apologetically. Slowly, he began to open his mouth as wide as he possibly could. "EREN??!! EREN WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?!" You used your right arm to drag yourself backwards as fast as you possibly could. "Eren, no! PLEASE EREN!" You didn't know what was going on, but one thing was for sure: You'd rather die then go inside a titan's mouth, even if it was Eren's. This sudden choice of Eren's took you by complete surprise. Had he lost his humanity again? Was his titan taking control of him again? You had no way of knowing.

"EREN, STOP!!" You clawed at his hand desperately, clinging onto the skin for your life. With one hand, though, it wasn't much help. You continued to slide, until you felt the moist warmth of his tongue on your ankles. "PLEASE!" Eren shook you off into his mouth, and closed it immediately before you had a chance to leap out. Wanting to keep you as still and safe as possible, he tucked you under the large pink muscle in his mouth and held you down there.

"EREN! EREN YOU LET ME OUT THIS INSTANT! EREN!" Your voice tore through your throat hoarsely as you yelled louder then you have in your entire life. You fought, thrashing around in his mouth, sticky saliva coating your body. You were now a disgusting, gooey mess, a fly struglling in a spider's web. "EREN JEAGER YOU RELEASE ME NOW!"

Your mind swirled and ached as you tossed and turned in his mouth. Eventually, your energy gave out as a lack of oxygen and lightheadness took over you. You became extremely panicked, still not knowing what Eren planned to do. Your hyperventilating breaths shook, along with your body. Pain, stress, anxiety, fear...they all mixed together until you could take it no longer. Your body fell limp, your eyes closed, and you gave in to the sweet, dark embrace of unconsciousness.

In the short time that your panic attack had occurred, Eren had already dealt with the two titan pests. He stood there in silence, a little worried when you stopped struggling under the weight of his tongue. He opened his jaw a little, allowing a little fresh air sweep in for you to breath. You didn't stir or move a muscle. Eren panicked, assuming the worst. He closed his mouth and began to sprint, determined to find the other scouts, and fast. He couldn't even imagine the horror of you dying there in his mouth.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

Eren had walked on for at least a half an hour, and saw no sign of humans. He looked over trees, past ruins, but nothing. It wasn't until about almost an hour of walking that he saw a puff of smoke rise above the canopy of trees.

A bonfire! Eren began to get excited. The scouts! It has to be them!

He rushed off in their direction, his stomping feet shaking leaves down from the trees. He groaned in anticipation, making sure to open his mouth the give you air every so often. Finally, with his great view from 15 meters up, he could see the small guarded camp, lined with scout lookouts along the edges. He tensed up, noticing that they immediately became aware and alert of his presence. He couldn't hear them from that far away but he could tell the sight of him caused the hive to stir. The Scouts rushed around in panic, not noticing from that distance that the titan on the horizon was Eren. Nevertheless, Eren only had one thing to worry about, and that was getting you to safety.

As he approached the camp the Scouts guarding it pulled out their weapons. Now only a few feet away, they leaned forward, prepared to attack with their 3DMG gear. They didn't stop to consider the fact that it was Eren, they were all on edge and were prepared to kill any titan they saw on sight. Before they burst off, a commanding tone brought them to a halt.

"Stop!" A short raven-haired man pushed his way through the readied cadets. He held his arm out, signaling for them to remain on the ground. "Weapons away, it's Jeager..." He said with a hint of annoyance on his breath.

"What?"

"Huh? For real?" Some of the cadets who had never even seen Eren's titan form spoke up in surprise.

"Eren?!" A worried voice cut through the mumbling crowd. Mikasa ran to the front with Levi. Armin and the others tagged along behind her. As soon as she had heard there was a titan by the camp, she had readied her blades, and still had them out.

"Ackerman, I said weapons away," Levi repeated firmly.

"Are you sure, sir," Jean spat," What if Eren isn't in control of that thing, just like at Trost?"

"Don't you think he would've already attacked us by now, genius?" Levi retorted, causing Jean to shrink back in fear.

"Jeager? You in there, brat?" Levi turned his focus back to Eren. Eren could only nod, and groan a bit." I'm taking that half-assed reply as a yes," He turned to Mikasa. "Ackerman, I'm sure you'd love to do the honors, so why don't you take some of your little friends and cut Jeager out," He turned back to Eren, shouting up at his towering form," You hear that?! Time to come out, play time's over for today!" Eren mumbled, shuffling his feet.

"Wait, sir..." Petra stepped forward, leaning in to her Corporal's ear. "Wasn't the commander's niece with Cadet Jeager when they-"

"...Oh, shit!" Levi cursed under his breath. He looked up at Eren, searching desperately for you even though he knew you obviously were not there. His eyes darted around Eren's whole form, but it was clear he was alone. "Shit, shit, shit...." he whispered. 

"This is bad..." Petra uttered breathlessly.

"Yeah no shit..." He shouted up at Eren," Jeager, listen to me! Where is the girl? Where is (Name)? Do you understand me?!"

"You don't think she's-?"

"No, don't even say that can you imagine if the Commander heard you," Levi spun around, addressing the few soldiers in front of him. "Listen up and listen closely," He spoke with an extremely serious tone," Someone has to go watch over the Commander's tent. Do NOT let him leave. Do you understand? He can not see-"

Levi looked beyond the crowd to the large tent that Erwin occupied. There stood the tall blonde in front of the tent's entrance. He stared up at Eren intensely. He was always hard to read but Levi could sense the anxiety and anger under his porcelain mask of a face. Levi knew that his old friend and respected superior always tried to maintain a mature and strict demeanor, but he also knew what his niece meant to him. 

And if she was killed or hurt in any way, there would be hell to pay.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please let me know about any grammar errors so they can be fixed! Comments make my day!!


	4. Safe in Erwin's Arms

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Back in the safe, warm arms of your beloved Uncle, we see a side of Erwin that he keeps hidden from most.

"Out of my way! Let me through!" Erwin pushed through the crowd of soldiers surrounding Eren's titan.

Finally at the front, he stood by Levi's side and Mike's, who had joined them, looking up at Eren. The blood under his skin boiled with rage.

"Levi. I see Jaeger here, but I don't see my niece?"

"I know, Sir," Levi replied with an indifferent tone, but in reality, worry for his old friend consumed him in this tense moment.

"I thought you said you sent her off with Jeager? I trusted you I watch over her so where is she?"

Eren tried to get his attention, but Erwin had already turned his back to the crowd behind him. He cleared his throat, trying to keep his composure as his ears and face turned redder and redder by the second.

"Sir, I-"

"All cadets return to your tents at once and prepare the supplies to move!" He cut Levi off, addressing the crowd," Load the wagons, we leave tomorrow morning! Levi and Mike, stay," Every soldier, in shock of not only Eren, but the shaky state of their commander, stood frozen," That's and order!" Erwin screamed in anger, and the cadets swarmed, immediately getting to work.

"Sir, are you sure that's such a good idea?"

"I will not make a fool of myself in front of my men," He said firmly, trying to save his pride. Erwin was highly respected and admired by each and every member of the Scouting Regiment. They knew him as the cool, collected, and wise commander who never lost his cool, but it did happen sometimes. Usually, only his closest friends ever saw that side of him. He refused to let the rest of them see, as he was about to lose his cool now. He could handle pretty much anything, tolerate everything, but now, this was different. Now his niece was involved, and no one messed with Erwin's family.

Finally, Erwin, fuming with anger, noticed the titan behind him, who fidgeted anxiously trying to get his attention.

"Eren Jaeger!" Erwin crossed his arms behind his back, trying to keep what little patience he had back. "You were the last one to see my niece, and now she is not here! Where. is. she?!" He accentuated each and every word through gritted teeth.

He could feel his palms starting to get sweaty, his heart pounded loudly, overwhelmed at the thought of his last beloved family member being gone. It was his job to keep her safe, and he failed.

I swear when I get my hands on Jaeger...he thought viciously. She better be ok. She better be safe.

Eren waved big, clumsy hands out in front of his mouth defensively, trying desperately to convey what he was thinking.

"Sir, he can't answer you in that form," Levi added quietly. Erwin's eyes widened in embarrassment.

"Levi, cut Jeager out immediately," he ignored his mistake and continued his rant, "It's time to come out now, Eren!"

"Uggh!" Eren roared as if to say, "Wait!" He looked to Erwin apologetically.

"What is it, Jeager?" Erwin scowled.

"Nnnn," Eren grumbled, then with little grace he fell to his knees, causing the ground to tremor and shake. Now on his hands and knees, he brought one hand to his mouth. Carefully, he pushed your limp body into his palm with his tongue.

"What the hell...?" Levi's brow rose. From that far down you just looked like a little tiny slobbery ball in Eren's palm, like a hair ball cough up by a cat.

"Mm..." Eren rumbled in a concerned tone. His eyes darted around, distressed at the fact that you were not moving. He lowered you slowly to the ground, minding the fragile nature of your broken ribs and arm. He placed your body at Erwin's feet. It took him a few seconds to fully comprehend what was in front of him.

"No...no, no!" Erwin yelled breathlessly, instantly falling to his knees by your side.

"...That's disgusting..." Levi hovered over you and your uncle, who was now on the verge of breaking.

You were disgusting, alright. Your skin was covered with scratches, dirt and blotches of blood. Your clothes were torn and you looked sickly pale. Worst of all you were covered head to tow in thick Eren slobber, and Levi held his nose as the scent of titan breath rose from you.

"No..." Erwin's trembling hands scraped back a thick layer of goo from your cheek and forehead, brushing hair out of your face lovingly and as gently as possible. "(Name)..." He gently shook your shoulder, but you gave absolutely no response. You did not move nor did your facial expression change. "Please, please open your beautiful eyes...please...please."

Show me those beautiful eyes...my sister's eyes.

"I know my niece. I know you're a fighter...please, you're alive I know it..." He cooed, staring at your chest for any signs of breathing.

"Sir-"

"Just-!" He yelled, but then lowered his voice,"...just cut Jaeger out..." His voice trembled. Levi obeyed, immediately heading towards Eren, who was a mental wreck.

He looked behind Erwin to the few nosy soldiers who just had to get a glimpse of the commander in this fragile position. They looked up at him with judgmental and distain-filled eyes. And he deserved it, he knew. He would be crying right now if he could.

Look at what I've done!! He shrieked internally, wanting to rip himself apart.

"Ok, brat," Levi perched on Eren's shoulder," Time's up, bend forward." Eren complied, his head hanging more in shame then in obedience. He moved his wild locks from his nape with large shaking hands, and moaned as Levi quickly sliced into his skin.

With a hiss and a plume of hot steam, Eren's flesh-covered form sprung from the giant's neck. Levi seethed quietly when he latched onto Eren's shoulders and the temperature of the boy's skin burned him. Slowly, he pulled Eren from the titan.

Eren slumped against Levi, completely unconscious. Not even his worry for you could fight the exhaustion and weakness that washed over him upon detaching from his titan. His eyelids softly shuttered and twitched over his teal eyes, and his mouth freely hung open. Levi slung him over his small shoulder with a grunt, and propelled down to the ground. He set him - practically threw him - on the ground next to you and your defeated uncle.

"(Name)" Erwin felt a tear threaten the corner of his eye, and immediately wiped it off, making his face as controlled and stern as he could manage. "My sweet, sweet n-niece," He wrapped his strong arms around you, bringing your limp form into his broad chest. He buried his face into your shoulder. With his face now covered, where no one could see, he let his tears flow freely, caring not about the disgusting dirt and saliva that transferred from your clothes to his skin and uniform. "My p-precious niece, I am so so sorry," He shook his head softly.

Levi and Mike looked on, not really knowing what to do, but they did stand side by side behind the depressing scene, making sure to block the view of it from anyone else. The least they could do was help the commander save face.

"Dear sister, I have f-failed you. I promised you I w-would....I promised!" He shouted angrily at himself, tightening his grip on you. His nails dug into your arm and squeezed in your ribs.

"AAGGH!" You let out a low, growling mewl of pain. You sat up in his arms, convulsing violently. Your eyes stilled closed, you struggled to get out of the grasp of whatever your assailant was. You just assumed it was Eren's gigantic titan hands clasped around your body. Erwin eyes widened as you thrashed against his chest. He smiled widely, trying to settle you. "Let me go!"

"(Name)!" He tried to grab your flying wrists as you shrieked and flailed around with the right side of your body, as the left side was basically paralyzed with pain.  
"(Name)! You're ok, you're ok. It's me! It's your Uncle, Erwin!"

Erwin...

Erwin 

Erwin 

Your eyes flew open at the sound of his name. His beloved name. Your favorite name. Immediately your eyes welled up with tears of pure amazement and joy.

"U-Uncle Erwin?" You couldn't believe the sight in front of you. Raising your trembling right hand, you harshly rubbed his face, leaving a rough red blush. You pressed hard, still not believing he was truly there. He did not mind your roughness, though. He merely smiled down at you, his breathing heavy and overwhelmed.

"Yes, it's me. You're safe now." He looked around him at the camp placed in wide open, titan infested land,"Er...relatively speaking..." He chuckled, a single tear falling from his eye. You cringed as it splashed onto your face.

"You're really here...I was so scared."

"I knew you would make it. I knew you were my strong girl," he brushed back your hair as if you were his very own daughter. You stared into his bright blue orbs silently, completely numb with both joy and pain. "I'm so glad you're back here with me. I thought I'd lost you."

"Y-you," you groaned," only wish you c-could get rid of me that easily," You laughed.

"Don't joke about that," He said sternly, but his face softened and he couldn't help but laugh, "I wouldn't be able to go on without you," You gasped softly. Erwin usually wouldn't admit something like that, even to you. He tried to bring you into a tight embrace until you cried out in pain.

"Ah!" You hissed.

"What is it? Where are you hurt?"

"Nngh!" You groaned, trying to remove some pressure from your ribs. "My ribs are definitely broken...but I think..... my arm is too. My whole left side is in so much," You moaned when he tried to shift you over," ...pain. Please, don't move me."

"I need to pick you up-"

"PLEASE DO NOT MOVE ME!" You yelled in agony. Every single tiny move he made shook your crushed bones and hurt like hell.

"I have to move you, or I can't get you to the sick tent. I'll try to be as gentle as possible."

"No, please! AHHHHGG!" You screamed out as he ignored your pleas, slowly picking you up from the ground. "Stop, Erwin, PLEASE!!" Your hand flew to your side, trying to steady your aching ribcage to no avail. "S-Stop!"

"We need to get you washed off and wrapped up as soon as possible. Those bones won't heal themselves and those gashes will scar and fester. Do you want an infection?" He still talked to you like you were a small child sometimes." We've got to get going, pack the wagons, and eat and rest so in the morning we can get back to Wall Rose." He hated seeing you in this much pain, but he always knew what was best for you. He refused to look down at your pained expression, as your body spasmed and shook in his hands.

"Erwin, it hurts! It hurts!" You gulped in air through ragged breaths, as even breathing hurt your tender side.

"I know...dear one..." Your screams softened to a whimper. You almost felt like a fussy infant in his arms. And there was a good reason for that....

"...You haven't... called me that since I was little," You stammered.

"...I know," He hesitated, exhaling deeply. His mind rushed back to memories of you many years ago. He saw himself, sitting with you in the sun, chasing you around with a mischievous grin on your face. He always spent time with you as an infant. You were his child, as he had none of his own. He would come home from the Scouting Regiment only rarely, but since you and your mother were all he had, he never missed a chance to see his favorite little girl. "I'm sorry this happened to you..."

"It wasn't your fau-AGH!" His arm accidentally bumped your ribs.

"I didn't mean your injuries, I mean for letting you join the Scouts in the first place."

"Erwin-"

"Don't. We are not going to argue it now, I just wanted you to know I am sorry."

"Yes, Uncle Erwin."

"Jaeger's lucky he brought you back alive..." He thought out loud. He really didn't mean for you to hear. Your eyes widened.

"Holy shit! That's right! Eren!" 

"Excuse me, young lady?" You shrunk down in his grip.

"Holy...crap. Uncle Erwin, where is he?! I need to see him! Is he ok!" You tried to scramble out of his grasp, holding your feeble arm.

"Woah, woah, slow down there!" He scooped you up, cradling you again. "Eren is fine. You need to worry about yourself , not Jaeger. Like I said, he's just lucky he brought you back to me ok. I don't care what he is. He's fortunate he could gain control of his titan form this time. If you would've been killed...if he would've hurt you because he can't take command of that monsterous form...I would've killed him.You should've seen me...all worked up. It was embarassing. Your mother would've laughed at me," He grumbled shamefully, no trace of jest in his throat. You laughed at his strict exspression.

"I'm not that important, Uncle Erwin..." You stroked his cheek. He removed your hand, holding it in his own large hand firmly.

"You think I'm joking." He more of stated then asked. 

 

"But I would've killed him. I'd kill anyone who hurts you."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always, comments and critiques are appreciated and make my day! Let me know what you think, or any grammar errors I made!


	5. Feelings for Him..?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Uncle Erwin is a cockblock. 
> 
> Chapter includes fluff and teenage angst.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always, comments and critiques are appreciated and make my day! Let me know what you think, or any grammar errors I made!

“Come on, come on!” You tapped your foot impatiently. The sun was starting to rise, and soon, you knew that your Uncle Erwin would give the order to move out, and head back to Wall Rose. You stood there for nearly half an hour, outside one of the last tents left standing in what was once a large camp. Erwin planned to move out as soon as the sun rose, and he wasn't quite happy with the fact that everything wasn’t already packed and ready to go. At least, no titans had bothered you while you packed.

The tent you stood by was the makeshift infirmary whilst outside the walls. Inside, Hanji took a quick look over patients: victims of titan attacks, or…at least the ones that survived. She did as much as she could to heal or sooth wounds, but most of the work would have to be done behind the walls. It was sad, honestly, that some didn't make it the whole trip home.

You stood, looking up at the last stars before morning, waiting. Eren was inside, being looked over. Erwin had refused to let you see him since he exited his titan and fell unconscious, saying that your wounds were more important to tend to at the moment. So, after hours with Hanji, you were advised to get some rest. It was impossible to fall asleep, however, as one thought was constantly running through your mind:

Was Eren okay?

You twisted and turned around, finally resolving to get up, sneak out of your tent without Erwin’s notice, and see how Eren was doing. But now, there you stood in the freezing night, ducking at every sound of human voices so you didn't get caught. Erwin would've had your hide if he knew you weren't resting.

“Yeah, yeah I know, I'll take it easy, I promise.” Your ears perked up at the sound of that familiar, amicable voice you were waiting on. Eren strided out, looking back at Hanji, waving one last time. You were relived to see his was now clean with a fresh set of clothes. He turned his head, the last light from inside the tent fading, and a small gasp falling from his wide-eyed face. “(Name)? Wha-“ He barely had time to speak before you lunged at him, wrapping your right arm around his neck and embracing him as best you could with your injuries. “(Name)…” He spoke softly, not knowing what to do with his self. Slowly, he wrapped his arms around the small of your back.

“I've been waiting for you to come out of there for ages,” you whispered, careful not to draw attention to yourself. “Had to see how my titan-boy was doing,” you teased. A small heated shade of pink rose to his cheeks. “Are you alright?” You pulled out of his arms.

“Me? Yeah…I told them I was fine, but they insisted I-“ he cut himself off, his brow furrowing. "Wait, me?! What about you?! You're the one-“

“Shh shh!” You covered his lips with your fingertips, scowling at his foolishness. “You have to be quiet! I'm supposed to be resting right now…”

“As you should be,” he removed your hand, holding your palm in his. Blushing, he quickly released it, mumbling an apology that you found unnecessary.

“I couldn't sleep, the… pain in my arm was too much,” you lied to his face. You couldn't tell him he was the reason you were up. That would be humiliating, having him think you think of him…like that. You were just concerned, is all…

“Oh yeah…” He stepped back to look at the full picture of your figure. Your torso was tied tightly with a white bandage, and a makeshift sling held up your broken arm.

“Yeah…the bandages and sling aren’t doing much but holding the ribs in place, but that’s the best they could do until we get back to the base. It’s not much, but not having it move around so much eases the pain at least a little.”

“I…” He looked down, ashamed of himself, “I am so sorry, (Name).”

“No, Eren,” You pulled his gaze up to look you in the eyes, your hand resting under his chin. “I told you that I forgive you already. No more blaming yourself.”

“It’s all my fault, (Name).”

“No more!” You threw him an irritated glance.

“If it weren’t for me-“

“I wouldn’t be here…” You finished for him. He looked down at you, surprised. “You saved me form titans…multiple times. You carried me here, back to my uncle. I have no reason to be mad at you.”

“That’s bullshit!” He pulled away from you, stomping like a small child once. “I am the reason you’re hurt!”

“Eren! Sto-“

“Pack up the last tent! We’re moving out, five minutes,” You pulled Eren behind the tent with you as you hear a mighty voice sound out, vibrating through the whole camp. You peeked out to see Erwin giving the command.

"Five minutes!” Eren whispered worriedly. “You gotta get outta here so Commander Erwin doesn’t get upset.

“Oh, it’s no use, trust me.” You waved him off. “He’s already found out by now. I never get away with anything with him.”

“Oh…” He mumbled, not knowing what else to say.

“Hey, but listen, Eren.”

“Hmm?” He looked to you.

“I need you to listen very closely. Promise me whatever you do, you won’t tell Erwin you caused me these injuries in your titan form.” His brow furrowed, saddened by the mention of his uncontrolled actions.

“Why no-“

“I told him that my 3DMG broke while I was pretty high up and I fell on my left side. I think he believed me but I wouldn’t put it past him to investigate further. But, Eren…” You stared at him with sharp eyes as serious as can be, “he can not find out that you did this.”

“I can’t just... lie to my superior!”

“Eren! Erwin is super overprotective and when family is involved,it's even worse; he breaks easily. He’s ridiculous about it and over dramatic. I've seen it before. I know you may not believe me because he's always so composed and serious, but that's because Fanily is the last thing he has to care about in this world.”

“But…what if he directly asks me?”

“Then you say you don't know what happened!”

“But Ido know what happened! (Name) I can't just lie to his face.” He frowned, looking at your bright, spirited face. He found it’s soft complexion and glow quite beautiful, to say the least, but he couldn’t deny the fact that there were destructive red scratches and bruises on it that weren’t there until he came along. His eyes traced a particularly deep scar along your cheek. It ran from the outside corner of your left eye past your bottom lip, and he hated himself, knowing it would be there forever.

You growled, closing your eyes and bringing your hands up to rub your temples. He was honestly so frustrating at times. So damn stubborn.

“Yes! I know you know, but-“

“(Name)!” You heard an deep, stern voice coming closer.

"Oh no...” You knew there was no use hiding.

“(Name)!” Your uncle approached the two of you, throwing a glance between you and Eren, then he frowned, his usually brooding look returning.

“Commander Erwin, sir!” Eren saluted, until given the signal to relax.

“I discovered your tent empty while I was loading the wagons. Didn't I tell you to leave Jaeger be?”

“Uncle-“

“No, let's go, now. Since you were out of bed, you must have heard my orders to be ready in five minutes.” When you smiled at him innocently, he rolled his eyes. “You were supposed to be resting! So not only did you sneak out but you went to the one place I told you not to go. Why must you always disobey me?” Then he mumbled under his breath, “stubborn girl…”

“Sir-“

“Jaeger, if you're alright, go help finish with the horses. Ackerman and Arlert were asking about you. I need to have a word with my niece.” He glared at you, and you stared wide-eyed at Eren, shrinking back in fear.

“Yes, sir!” Just before Eren marched off, you grabbed the collar of his shirt, pulling his ear down to your mouth.

“Promise me you won’t tell him!” You whispered just quiet enough to avoid Erwin’s hearing, though he did give you a look of suspicion, wondering what you could possibly have to keep from him.

"(Name)...fine, ok."

"No, promise me! Eren, this in no joke. Erwin’s gonna kick you ass! Promise!”

“I won’t!” He pulled out of your grasp harshly, straightening out his sleeve. You looked at him with slightly hurt eyes. “Sir,” he bowed his head slightly to Erwin, then walked away.

“Hmm…” Erwin grumbled, and your shoulders tensed, as he motioned for you to come closer. Grumbling like a moody teenager, you dragged your feet over to him, and he leaned down to your height, placing a hand on your shoulder. “(Name).”

“Yes, Uncle Erwin,” you looked up at him with a scowl. His ‘talks’ were never good.

“I…” he hesitated. “When I said I wanted you to stay away from Jaeger, I meant it, and you didn’t listen. I don’t want you going near him.”

“What, why? Erwin-“

“It’s not that I don’t like him. Jaeger is a nice, determined boy who is loyal to his friends and superiors.”

“Then why ar-“

“Shh, just listen.” His ears got slightly red, and there was a visible clench of his jaw, although he tried to hide it behind a blank expression.You knew better then to get him worked up, so you let him talk. “Look…I know I wasn’t there, but you and Jaeger were alone together out there for quite a long time.” Your face reddened. Where was he going with this. “ And I don’t like that, at all. Like I said, I know he’s a good kid, but,” He stopped, looking aorund. He never knew how to talk about these things. “Look, he’s a young man, and you’re a pretty girl, and…it’s my responsibility to take care of you-“

“Erwin! Ew, stop it!” You pulled away from him. “We are out in the titan infested, dangerous world and you are talking about this!? Nothing happened between Eren and I, and I don’t even like him…like that…” You shook your head, and Erwin’s entire face heated.

“(Name)!” He silenced you, “ You weren’t there when Jaeger first gained consciousness. Levi had him brought to our tent to watch over him while you were being checked out by Hanji. As soon as that boy woke up, before he even had the strength to stand, he was asking about you.”

“What? What did he say?” You became interested, stepping a bit closer to Erwin. A fact he noted unhappily.

“He wanted to know if you were ok, where you were, if he could speak to you. (Name), he didn’t ask about any of his other friends or even where he was. I was once a boy his age, (Name), and you may not like him, but after your little adventure together, he’s certainly taken an interest in you. I don’t trust him, just like I wouldn’t trust any hormonal teenage boy-"

“Yeah, yeah! I get it, Erwin. Can we please be done now?!” You crossed your arms, turning away from him in slight disgust.

“I…fine,” he sighed. “You would do well to heed my warning this time. Go find Hanji, she’ll help you find your place to head home with you injury. I have to speak to Mike about inventory before we leave. You nodded, the dirty look on you face still concentrated on him.

You waited until he was completely out of view, then you turned around, your mean look fading to one of completely flattery and amazement.

“Eren…really asked about me?” Your stomach fluttered, and you bit the corner of your lip, breathing in deeply. A light blush warmed your cheek, and you bit at the nails of you right hand excitedly. Why did you even care? Well…it would’ve been nice to have any boy take that much interest in you, but did you really care that it was Eren specifically? You regained control of yourself. It was time to be serious, and shake yourself out of this little reverie. After all, it was dangerous out here. You sighed, walking as quickly as your pained left side would allow in the direction of the wagons.

“Ah, (Name),” Hanji chimed, seeing your approach from behind her horse. She stroked its nose softly, and it shook its mane happily. “Good girl,” She spoke those words, and you felt a pang of sorrow fill you heart, remembering your beautiful black mare that Eren had to put down. You looked down, a little moment of silent respect for the lost animal. It did more work then you had accomplished on this journey outside the walls, and given more for it then you had.

“Hello, Hanji,” You breathed with a weak smile. A nearby soldier flashed you a slightly envious glance. It made some of the others mad that being the commander’s niece, you sometimes could call the superiors by their names without titles, and get away with it. You never meant to, and liked to use their titles to show respect, or to get out of seeing the hateful gazes of others, but sometimes you just forgot.

“How is that sling holding up? Helping at least a little, I hope.”

“Yes, it is, thank you very much. It only hurts a little when I move, but it was easier to sleep without bumping something,” you lied, sparing her feelings. In all honesty, your insides flamed, ached and were numb all at once. It amazed you, but at least you weren’t reduced to a screaming child in tears anymore.

“Ok, ok, good, but…” She scratched the back of her neck apologetically, “The wagon reserved for the injured and sick is full to the brim, almost overloaded. I was gonna have you ride in it because it’s a smoother ride, you know, so your bones aren’t bumping up and down on a horse, but there’s no room left.”

You looked over at the wagon, it’s back open, one last soldier being lifted into it carefully. He had a wrap over his forehead and left eye. Fresh blood leaked crimson through the bandage, and he held his shoulder, moaning softly. You covered your mouth with your hand, shaking your head. In fact, all of those soldiers looked worse off then you. They looked up with blank, hopeless expressions, or rocked back and forth like they weren’t even aware of their surroundings or existence. Probably thinking that they were lucky to be alive, if they weren’t to traumatized to think at all. They deserved that more comfortable ride, not you. You couldn’t even look over at the wagon full of the dead next to it. That would be ten times more devastating, but Erwin had warned you before the expedition that it would happen.

From beside the wagon, you saw a familiar head of blonde hair, and the man threw his leg over a horse’s back, sitting up tall and prideful. Erwin saw you looking, and gave you a silent nod of encouragement.

“(Name),” Hanji regained your focus.

“Yes, sorry, yes?” You paid attention to her words once again. Prepared to move out, your friends on their horses moved past you slowly, in organized columns and rows. You looked up on either side as they surrounded you. First Jean and Armin, then Reiner and Bertoldt passed, then moved forward. Others came, but you stopped paying attention to them, giving Hanji your full gaze.

“What I was saying, is that we’ll have to have you ride on a horse, but then I thought that that may be dangerous, because you can only use one hand, and can’t put of 3DMG with your injuries. Can’t have you falling off of your horse, now can we?” She giggled, imagining your little body cocooned in white bandage rolling across the ground. She cleared her throat. “So, you’ll have to ride with someone else, and hold on as tight as you can. It’ll be better that way, they can watch you, and we won’t have as much of a risk of you falling off. It would waste a lot of time having to stop and pick you up, also.” She laughed.

“Oh, ok, that’s fine-“

“You can ride with me,” A voice spoke, and you looked up to your right, seeing Eren just a few yards away, his hand reached out to you kindly. You gasped slightly. He looked…wow, you swooned mentally, a little disappointed in yourself for the involuntary thought, honestly. His figure, up high on his horse and fitted with new 3DMG, blocked out the light of the sun on the eastern horizon, but it shined brightly behind him, framing his whole body in silhouette-like golden light, and the breeze blew his soft brown locks away from his face. He looked like a prince from a storybook, and you laughed at the cheesiness of it all, like it was staged, planned. But maybe, it was just your childish mind. You shook your head playfully, looking at him.

“…Sure,” you hesitated, giggling softly. Your hand reached out toward his, Hanji prepared to help you onto the horse.

You gasped, pulling your hand back, as the loud snort of a horse startled you. From out of nowhere, another horse rode in between you and Eren, halting abruptly. The rider blocked out all vision of the titan-boy behind him, separating you fully. You growled as the rider grabbed your wrist.

“Get on.” Erwin spat evilly, smirking at you. He nodded, signaling for Hanji to push you up onto the horse behind him. As soon as you were on, the rider sped off ahead, mumbling a huff of arrogant victory. You looked back at Eren sadly, who’s face was glazed with a astounded, dumbstruck look. His mouth hung open, not even taking in what just happened, as it happened all too quickly.

You turned back around, gripping onto the back of Erwin’s shirt as tight as you could, and resting your head on his strong back.


End file.
